


couldn't see it before (and now you're all i see)

by lilithiumwords



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Friends to Lovers, Future Fic, Introspection, M/M, Realization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-27 10:16:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14423268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilithiumwords/pseuds/lilithiumwords
Summary: Years down the road, Yuri realizes he has fallen in love with Otabek.





	couldn't see it before (and now you're all i see)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thecryoftheseagulls](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecryoftheseagulls/gifts).



> This is for thecryoftheseagulls, who requested aged-up Yuri falling for Otabek after they've been friends for a while.

Yuri realizes it when he can look Otabek in the eye.

It takes a few years. His body begins changing just after he enters seniors, and skating becomes more complicated as he relearns to balance himself. Otabek grows as well, but not as quickly as Yuri does. Yuri gets his measurements every few months anyway and marks them on the wall inside his closet at Lilia's, always frowning in irritation when he keeps coming up shorter than Otabek.

Until, one day, they are nearly the same height, and Yuri realizes he can meet Otabek's eyes without craning his head.

 _We could kiss at this height,_ Yuri thinks, then turns away to yell something at Viktor, who is making eyes at his idiot husband _again_. Yuri should really stop letting them into the rink together. He and Otabek need to concentrate on their next ice show, damnit!

The thought comes back to him hours later, after Yuri and Otabek have gone home to the apartment they share in downtown St. Petersburg. Otabek has already finished his shower and is sitting on the couch petting Potya, his hair still messy and damp against his forehead. Yuri hesitates by the bathroom door, staring at the back of Otabek's head.

He could kiss Otabek. What would it be like?

After that, Yuri can't stop thinking about it. Otabek has been his best friend for four years now, and Yuri has never dated anyone. He never cared to before. Watching the old man run around with _katsudon_ for years, as well as Mila's occasionally brutal break-ups, had turned him off dating. He didn't need love; he had skating, and he had his idiot friends, and he had Otabek.

What if, though?

Otabek is the person closest to him. Yuri doesn't trust anybody else. He can't imagine kissing anybody else. He can barely imagine kissing Otabek -- and yet Yuri ends up spending hours daydreaming about it. He could lean across the couch while Otabek is watching TV and do it then. He could turn his head while they're standing side-by-side. Maybe next time he shows Otabek something on his phone.

Otabek still has one or two inches on him, if anyone really pays attention to that sort of thing. (Yuri does, but he will never admit it.) So, Yuri wouldn't have to reach far. Kissing him would be easy. It almost makes sense, too; Otabek was the first person Yuri really trusted, so why not add kissing?

It's not just kissing, either. Yuri wants to do all kinds of things with Otabek that he would never want to do with anyone else. Date-ish things, like going to movies together, or going to the park, or taking walks in the park, or going out to eat. Then again, he and Otabek do all that together anyway. By now, Yuri knows exactly what Otabek likes to eat and usually orders for them both. When they go out to the clubs, Otabek always brings Yuri the exact kind of beer he likes.

He wonders if Otabek feels the same way, or if Otabek still sees him as the scrawny kid who snuck into clubs to hear his DJ gigs. Otabek hasn't really dated, either; he went out with Mila for a while, but they broke up amicably, to Yuri's relief.

That had been an awful time, because watching Otabek sit with Mila instead of Yuri at meals and parties had infuriated him. Then Mila had said she was going to Italy for the spring and broke things off without breaking Otabek. Yuri was very relieved, because he had _hated_ it when they were dating, and he would have destroyed Mila if she had hurt Otabek.

_Oh._

Maybe Yuri has been in love with Otabek for a long time. He knows he's possessive of Otabek; he doesn't like to share him with anyone else. Otabek doesn't seem to mind, thankfully, but Yuri has often wondered if he is too much, as a friend. He knows he is rude and foul-tempered. He doesn't care, and Otabek doesn't seem to either. No one else likes him like Otabek does. Yuri probably loves him, now that he thinks about it. Maybe Otabek loves him, too.

They are best friends, after all.

Love seems complicated. Yuri doesn't think it should be; he would rather just be with Otabek, and if they occasionally kiss, that would be nice, too. Yuri hasn't kissed anybody, but he wouldn't mind it, if it was Otabek.

The more Yuri thinks about it, the more he comes to accept his feelings. This is just another part of their relationship.

He takes to watching Otabek a lot, trying to find any signs that Otabek feels the same way. After a while, Yuri realizes that Otabek acts differently with him than with anybody else, and vice versa. No one else makes him smile like Otabek does. Otabek never laughs at anyone else's jokes; he does smile for other people (and Yuri isn't jealous of that, he swears), and he cheers them on.

Yet Otabek isn't _comfortable_ with anyone else. He doesn't create songs for anybody else. He doesn't do ice shows with anybody else, unless it's a big group of all the idiots they know. He only shows that softer side for Yuri. Just like Yuri only shows his nice side to Otabek (and sometimes Yuuko and her weird kids, and very occasionally Katsuki Yuuri).

Then one day Yuri catches Otabek staring at his mouth, and Yuri realizes that maybe, just maybe, Otabek wants to kiss him too.

"Hey, Beka, there's something I want to show you," Yuri says, leaning over the back of the couch. It's Friday, and Otabek is supposed to be getting ready for his DJ job tonight. Yuri looks forward to tonight's music, because Otabek is going to debut a new song.

"Hm?" Otabek looks up from his magazine, turning his head toward Yuri, which presents a great opportunity.

Yuri wastes no time, leaning in and kissing Otabek on the lips. After a long moment of soft warmth, he pulls away, thinking about how nice that felt, and how nice it would be to do it again. Maybe at a new angle? He should have tried it while they were both on the couch.

"Yura," Otabek says, blinking a few times, then turns in his seat to look at Yuri. The look in his eyes is very familiar, the same look he gives Yuri every day. "That was new."

"Right, uh," Yuri says, struggling with his thoughts for a moment. He flushes and looks away. "I just wanted to. If you didn't like it, you can ignore it."

"I didn't mind it." Yuri's face heats up at those words, pleased. A moment later, long fingers slide behind his head and turn him around again. Yuri holds very still as Otabek leans in, kissing him slowly, and his eyes drift closed.

Yeah, he thinks he could get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! (*´♡`*)


End file.
